Tarnished Halos
by Jazz
Summary: Lindsey goes back in time... Nothing will ever be the same.


Tarnished Halos

Disclaimer: Willow & Co. don't belong to me, they belong to Joss and his cronies.

****

Tainted Halos

Lindsey looked at Holland, stunned at what he had just said.

"Could you please repeat that?" he asked, trying to remain calm. Holland couldn't have said what he'd thought he'd said.

"The senior partners want you to go back in time to prevent Angel from getting close to the Slayer," Holland said again. Lindsey swallowed hard. He had heard right the first time. Damn.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"We've acquired a device that allows movement through time. It's slightly risky, with a slight chance you ended up lost in time, but we believe that the end result is worth the risk." The unspoken part where he had to take this risk because of his betrayal of the firm was quite clear to Lindsey. However, what could he do? Refuse? The firm would probably kill him after his previous indiscretion. So, he was going to have to do this, and hope that he didn't end up getting eaten by a dinosaur or something equally bad or clichéd. 

"When am I going?"

"Tomorrow morning. Pack a bag with anything you might need. The firm will get some hard currency and tradable items for you to finance this trip." He handed Lindsey a single sheet of paper. "That should tell you everything you need to know. I know you won't let us down." The 'again' was quite clear.

"I won't, sir," he told Holland confidently, as he put the paper in his briefcase, and left the building, heading for his apartment. Once he reached his home, he sunk down onto the couch, his head cradled in his hands. Perfect! Just perfect. I have to go back in time...Although I could make a killing on the stock market... The last thought amused him somewhat, but he quickly brought his mind back to task. He opened his briefcase, and read over the page Holland had given him. 

His eyes widened slightly as he read. He'd assumed he was supposed to kill Angel during a time in Angel's life that made him more vulnerable, but apparently that wasn't the case. It was more of a last option. If possible, they wanted him to subvert Angel to W&H's side, which wasn't as crazy as it sounded. According to W&H's data, Angel had almost killed the Slayer his first year in Sunnydale because of some manipulation by Angel's sire. That meant that he, with information on how Angel would become, could really make a difference as to where Angel's loyalties would lie.

Lindsey shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He wasn't sure exactly how he would accomplish his task, but the first thing he needed to do was get his things together for his trip back in time. Laptop, various items of clothing and toiletries, along with some easily cashable items rounded out his packing, and he quickly placed all of it together, with the laptop and the disks that went with it in the innermost section of the suitcase, to protect it. 

Packing complete, Lindsey settled down in bed. His mind kept flashing with various images of Angel. When they had first met, when Angel had pushed his client out of the window to his fiery death, and then tucked his business card back into his pocket. The various times when Angel had managed to get a crucial witness into one of his court cases, always making his job much more difficult, and sometimes resulting in him losing his case. And when he'd gone to Angel about that thing with the blind kids and his crisis of conscience. Lindsey sighed, as he tried to shut down his brain. For tonight, he'd sleep. Tomorrow was soon enough for trying to figure out just what he was going to do with Angel.

*****

The next morning, Lindsey went to W&H with his suitcase. He'd added several of his old spell books after he'd woken up, when he'd realized he'd be going to a Hellmouth with no protection other than what he brought with him or managed to acquire once there. So, even though he hadn't practiced magic in years, he'd tossed the books in. Somehow, he knew he'd use them before he returned to the present.

He followed Holland from his office into a room with a strange device. It looked purely mechanical, but Lindsey could feel a faint aura of magic in the air. Magical technology. How to get the best of both worlds, he thought to himself wryly. Holland handed him a thick envelope, which he placed in his bag, and then motioned him to go into the gateway of the machine, where he could see a faint outline of a portal. He took a deep breath, took a very firm grip on his suitcase, and stepped through the portal. The trip through was dizzying, but he managed to keep a hold of both his bag and his breakfast, until he cleared the event's horizon and was dumped onto some grass. His suitcase landed on top of him, expelling all the air from his lungs, but luckily not doing any real damage. After a few moments, he was able to get his suitcase off him, and get to his feet. He glanced around himself. He was in a cemetery in broad daylight, so the chances that someone had seen him were quite low. Nevertheless, he should leave immediately, since a person in a cemetery with a suitcase would be unusual, even for a place like Sunnydale. So, he quickly left, in the direction of a motel he planned on staying at until he could find himself an apartment.

Several hours later, he had dropped his bag off at the motel and paid for a night's stay. He wouldn't be able to look for Angel until sunset, so he'd gone apartment hunting. The less time he had to stay in that flea-bitten motel, the better.

*****

That night, Lindsey stepped into the Bronze after having paid the cover charge. He was dressed casually, and he blended fairly well with the rest of the crowd. He glanced around, trying to see if Angel was here, but there were so many shadowed corners, it would probably take a while to check everywhere, and by then, he could have appeared in a place he'd already checked. Ah well, such is life, he though to himself, as he started to search the place. He noticed the various teenagers and 20-somethings dancing, as his eyes continued to sweep the Bronze. He was about to climb the stairs to the second level, when he noticed a young redhead sitting at a table. She looked familiar, and after he thought for a minute, he identified her as one of the friends of the Slayer. Which meant she'd probably be one of Angel's friends. So, he went over to talk to her.

"Hey," he greeted her. "Is that seat taken?" he asked as he nodded to the empty seat beside her. 

"No, no, no. It's not. In fact, this table isn't taken, so I'll just be going..." the girl said, her words running into each other as she rose from her seat. A blush was forming on her cheeks.

"Hey, I didn't come here to steal your table. I just saw the empty seat and an interesting person in the other seat, and thought I could talk with someone. I'm new in town," he said softly, trying to be as un-intimidating as possible. God, how old is this girl? I hope she doesn't think I'm trying to rob the cradle...

Her mouth opened and closed a few times without her saying anything, before she sank back into her seat, the blush growing more noticeable. "I'm Lindsey," he told her as he held out his hand.

"Willow," she said quietly as she shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Well, if it isn't nerd girl. Is she bothering you? Because I know you don't want to be seen with her. It will completely trash your reputation. I'm Cordelia Chase," she said as she stuck out her hand towards Lindsey. He ignored it, as he marvelled at the changed in this girl. Of course, Daddy still had all his money now, and she was the most popular girl in high school. He decided that he definitely didn't like her, in either incarnation. 

"It's my reputation to ruin," he told Cordelia smoothly. "So why don't you just run along like a good little girl," he said with condensation in his voice. Cordelia huffed slightly, and took off. Lindsey turned back to Willow, who was looking at him with shock in her eyes.

"That was Cordelia Chase! Cordelia Chase wanted to talk to you and you turned her down? No one ever turns her down. Well, okay, there was that one guy, but his father was a multi-millionaire and wasn't around for long, but still..."

"Willow," Lindsey said softly, making Willow stop her babbling. "I know that kind of girl from a mile away, and trust me when I say I don't want to have a thing to do with them. Besides, I'm looking for a friend, not a conquest."

"You want to be friends with me?" Willow asked, stunned.

"Why not? You look like just the kind of girl who would be a good friend. So, want to try?" Willow smiled and nodded, more than happy with the arrangement. The two talked for several hours, and Lindsey completely forgot that he'd originally come to the Bronze to find Angel, not make himself a friend that he already wished he didn't have to lie to. It was getting late as their conversation wound down, and Lindsey offered to walk Willow home. She agreed, and the two walked off into the night.

The continued to talk as they walked, but Lindsey remained as vigilant as he could against any threat. He really needed a car if he was going to be out at night in Sunnydale. They were about two streets away from Willow's house when they ran into a pack of vampires. There were six of them, and Lindsey was worried that they were cooked. Willow screamed when she saw their true faces, and Lindsey grabbed her arm and started running towards her house. Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough, and one of the vampires grabbed Lindsey's shoulder, sending him crashing into the grass beside the pavement. Willow ended up on top of him. She quickly rolled off with an Eeeep of embarrassment, and Lindsey grabbed a stake from his pocket. He managed to stake the vampire that tried to have Willow as a snack, but that still left five very pissed-off vampires. 

Luckily for them, however, a minute later Angel waded into the fray, and tossed some of the vampires around. However, even with Angel with them, the odds were still not in their favor. Another vampire got dusted, as Willow managed to do an effective duck and dodge with the two vampires chasing her. A moment later, she got some help herself from another man that Lindsey didn't recognize, and the battle was over, the vampires dusted and Lindsey and Willow only had a few minor scrapes and bruises to show for it. They turned to look at their rescuers. They were about to leave, heading in two different directions, when Willow called out to them.

"Wait! Please don't leave..." she asked pleadingly. Both stopped and turned back to look at Willow. Angel hesitated, as did the other man, but they returned.

"I'm Willow," she said shyly. "Thanks a lot for the help."

"Yeah, we would have been dead otherwise. I'm Lindsey."

"I'm glad that I... we were of help," he said as he glanced at his fellow rescuer. "I'm Graham."

"Angel," was a curt reply. Angel was obviously not much of a conversationalist during this time period.

"Those were vampires, weren't they?" Willow asked softly. All three of the men nodded. "Which probably means that we aren't safe just standing here. My house is just down the block..." She turned and walked away, leaving the three men simply standing there. They quickly went to catch up. Normally, both Angel and Graham would have skedaddled a long time ago, but there was something about Willow that they just couldn't ignore. So, they all followed her. By the time they'd caught up to her, she was unlocking her front door.

"You can come in, Angel," she said softly, surprising the three men. They all walked in, and sat down uncomfortably in the living room.

"You know what I am... And you still invited me in?" Angel asked softly.

"You saved me. That's all I need to know." Angel gave her a tentative smile, which Willow returned. There was a strange feeling of waiting in the air. Something that all of them could sense, but couldn't quite understand. 

No words were spoken for several minutes, but the silence was no longer uncomfortable. They just basked in each other's presence. Something very strange was happening, but not one of them knew what it was. 

"Stay the night," Willow asked impulsively. She then blushed almost as red as her hair. "I mean, I have the room, and..."

"We know what you mean, Willow," Graham interrupted softly. "I'd be happy to stay." He didn't know what was going on, but leaving Willow's presence was not feeling like an option right now.

"If you really want me to, I'd love to," Lindsey added. They turned to look at Angel. He nodded his head in agreement. 

"Great! Oh, I only have two spare bedrooms..."

"Lindsey and I will share," Angel said smoothly, as Lindsey looked at the vampire with shock in his eyes.

"Alright," she said. She smiled mischievously, although there was an uncertainty to it. "If Lindsey doesn't mind, that is." Willow looked at her new friend from under hooded eyes. Lindsey squirmed slightly from the gazes of the three others.

"I don't mind," he managed to get out, after a long silence. The other two males smirked slightly. 

"It's late. For the more human of us, that is," she gave Angel a smile to assure him that the vampire point wasn't made in malice. "I know I need sleep..." Willow let the question hang.

"Same here," Graham concurred. "Want to show me that bedroom?" Willow blushed, and ducked her head.

"Sure," she mumbled, as she walked up the stairs. The three men watched her with amusement, and they all followed her upstairs. She showed Graham a small room that looked like a guest bedroom, and then when down the hall to show Angel and Lindsey their room for the night. This one looked like someone lived in it.

"It's my parents room. They aren't usually here, though." Both Angel and Lindsey nodded, and Willow left them alone. 

Angel closed the door with a soft click, and Lindsey turned around, startled. Angel gave a small smile.

"Did I scare you?" he asked casually.

"Of course not," Lindsey denied immediately.

"Liar. I can smell the fear on you. Although it's not as strong as before." Angel moved closer to Lindsey, as he backed away.

Lindsey held up his hands, trying to look innocent. "Truce? Look, the vampire thing makes me a little uncomfortable, that's all." Angel's eyes narrowed.

"Fine. Truce. So, which side of the bed do you want?"

Lindsey swallowed. "Right."

"Fine," Angel said, as he pulled off his shirt. Lindsey swallowed again, harder this time. What was Angel up to? Shoes were toed off, and socks removed. Belt unbuckled, and pants taken off, leaving Angel in a pair of silky boxer shorts. He then slipped under the covers on the left side of the bed. 

Lindsey headed into the ensuite to remove his own clothing. There was not a chance he was going to undress in front of Angel, not after that little show, which had left it's mark on him. Lindsey tried to make up his mind of to whether or not to take care of his little problem. Angel would probably hear him, but he probably already knew he was aroused. And there was no way he was going to be able to go to sleep beside the vampire in this state. So, he took a shower, and took care of his no longer little problem at the same time. He dried his hair slightly on a towel, and put his boxers and tee shirt back on. He then slipped into bed beside Angel, back towards him.

Sleep took a while in coming, but eventually he drifted off to sleep, strangely feeling safer than he had in a long time.

*****

Angel woke up several hours later. He'd been surprised he'd fallen asleep at all. But after Lindsey had crawled into bed with him, and fallen asleep, he hadn't been able to keep from falling asleep. The mortals gentle breaths and slow heartbeats were like a soothing lullaby to the vampire, instead of bringing out the demon in him which demanded to hunt, drink, kill. It had greatly amused him to listen to Lindsey jack off in the shower. But it had also aroused him. How could it not? To hear Lindsey heartbeat increase, and his breath being reduced to short pants. Then the low moans had started. It had taken a lot of Angel's self-control not to join Lindsey in the shower. He'd smelled his release, before it had been washed down the drain. He'd watched Lindsey under carefully hooded lids as he'd slipped into bed with him. All in all, that had been the most erotic thing he'd been part of in a century. Of course, he'd started it by stripping, but he had to get some jollies somewhere, right?

But now he was bored. He was far from tired, and Lindsey wouldn't wake for many hours yet. He sharpened his hearing, and he could hear Willow's gentle breathing and heartbeat from her room. However, he didn't hear Graham right away. He listened some more, and realized that he was downstairs and awake. So, Angel put his clothes back on after carefully slipping out of bed, not wanting to wake Lindsey, and went downstairs to join Graham.

He found Graham sitting on the couch Willow had been sitting on earlier tonight. Angel sat beside him, and for a long time, the two simply sat in silence, taking comfort in the simple pleasure of being in each other's presence.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Graham asked. Angel started slightly, but turned to look at Graham.

"What is?"

"This... trust I feel for you. I don't know you! I never trust anyone. No one. Not since..." Graham trailed off.

"I don't either. Something is happening. Some supernatural power is bringing us together. I'm not sure if I should be pissed because my life is being messed with, or happy because it's bringing people back into my life. It's been... a very long time since I've trusted anyone."

"How long?"

Angel blinked. "About a century."

"Try almost three hundred years." Angel looked at Graham, stunned. Graham gave him a sardonic grin. "I don't look that old, huh? I stopped trusting after my guardian was killed when I was 18. Everyone near me was killed, so I was determined never to care about anyone again. What's your excuse?"

"I killed all the people I ever cared about." Graham looked at his carefully.

"You're a vampire, Willow said. However, you're not like other vampires. Why?"

"I have a soul." Graham appeared to weight this comment.

"Let's see if I have this straight. A vampire is a demon who takes over a human body, leaving nothing of the human left behind. You have a soul, which I assume you got back a century ago?" Angel nodded, and proceeded to explain.

"About a century ago, I killed a gypsy. In return, they cursed me with a soul, to punish me."

"So, you feel guilty for everything the demon did while in your body, that's what the punishment was?" Angel nodded again, and Graham sighed as he raked his fingers through his hair. "You feel guilty for the demon that was in your body-"

"IS in my body," Angel interrupted.

"Is in your body," Graham continued, as if he'd never been interrupted, "that committed all kinds of horrible deeds. Did you have any control over this demon?"

"No," Angel said softly, not sure what Graham was getting at.

"So how is that different from if someone were to be inherit the memories of a vampire? Would they be responsible for what the vampire had done?"

"I guess not..." 

"So how can you be responsible for what your demon did?" Angel just looked at Graham, never having thought of it that way before.

"I was made a vampire..."

"Did you consciously choose to become a vampire? Did you know what you would truly become?"

Angel flinched slightly under Graham's steely gaze. "No, I didn't know," Angel said softly.

"So, it can't be your fault. Let me tell you a little story. There was this young man who lost his entire family when he was five years old to this sorcerer. He was raised by a guardian, who was killed when he was 18. Several years after that, he was incredibly angry at what the sorcerer had done to him. The sorcerer was dead, though, so there was no way to punish him. The young man, however, needed to punish the sorcerer. So, he went to the sorcerer's village, and killed every man, woman and child that lived there. However, that didn't help him feel avenged. So, he went to the two other neighboring towns, and slaughtered everyone there, too. By the time he'd finished this, he still felt no peace, so he decided that killing was probably not the answer he was looking for. Many years later, he realized that those people he'd killed had had nothing to do with the sorcerer, and were innocent of all wrongdoing. He'd killed them for nothing. The young man became depressed when he realized this, but after several decades, he realized that he'd made a bad judgement call. The past was past, and there was nothing he could do to make that black mark of his past go away, no atonement was possible. So, he learned to live as had to, doing whatever he needed to survive." Graham stopped his story, and looked at Angel with expectation in his eyes. "I'm sure that you know that the young man in the story was me. And I had no excuse. No demon was controlling my actions. But I got past it, and lived." Angel looked at Graham, uncertain. "How long have you been in a funk? Since your soul was restored?" Angel nodded. "Well, I say that you've atoned for any evil the demon did while using your body. It's time you took your life back." Graham smiled sadly to himself. "Anyhow, that's what this old murderer has to say. I should go get some sleep. Think about what I said Angel. I don't want you to waste anymore of your life on things you weren't responsible for." Graham patted Angel's shoulder with a smile, and headed upstairs to him room, leaving Angel with his thoughts.

After sitting on the couch for about an hour, his mind going over again and again what Graham had told him, he finally decided to get some rest and figure it all out tomorrow. He went back upstairs, and slipped back into bed beside Lindsey, who was still sleeping soundly. Several minutes later, he too was asleep.

*****

The next morning, Lindsey woke up, disoriented. The room was pitch black, but the clock indicated it was ten o'clock in the morning. He was surprised how dark the room was, until he looked at the window. Someone had draped a very heavy blanket over the window, which let no light in. He wondered how he'd slept through the procedure that put that blanket there, since he doubted it was a soundless task, but eventually just shrugged it off as unimportant. He turn to look at his bed partner, and saw that Angel was fast asleep. Or as least, he thought that Angel was fast asleep. It was hard to tell with the no breathing thing he had going for him.

He got up, and dressed in last night's clothes. He'd have to remember to change when he returned to his motel room. He quickly exited the room, and headed downstairs, where he could hear the light clattering sounds from the kitchen. He peaked in, and saw that Willow was preparing breakfast as she talked to Graham, who was sitting at the table.

"Isn't impolite not to help?" Lindsey asked. Both of them turned, not the least bit startled. Lindsey realized that somehow they had known where he was, without having seen him there. Very strange. 

"I offered, but Willow wouldn't have anything to do with it." Graham shrugged.

"Lindsey, sit. Breakfast?" Willow continued to work on cooking breakfast, as she talked to the two men.

"Sure. Whatever you're making is fine." Willow smiled at him, as she worked. Lindsey delicately sniffed the air when she placed a mug down in front of one of the empty seats. "Is that... blood?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah. I went to the butcher shop earlier. I hope Angel doesn't mind pig's blood. It's all I could get on such short notice."

"Why did you heat it up now? He may not be up for hours." Willow blinked. 

"I felt it when he woke up. Didn't you?" Willow sounded confused.

"Lindsey, close your eyes." Lindsey looked at Graham skeptically. "Please, just close your eyes. I want you to try something." Lindsey sighed, but closed his eyes nonetheless. "Now, I want you to picture Angel. Can you see him in your mind?" Lindsey nodded. "Where is he?"

"Right behind me," Lindsey heard himself say, without any prompting at all. His eyes shot open, and he turned around, and there was Angel. Lindsey blinked a few times in confusion, as Angel took his seat at the table. Willow passed out plates with breakfast, and Lindsey was again surprised to see a lot of his favorites on his plate. Each plate held different things, so how had she known?

"Lindsey, you're trying too hard to bring sense to this... connection we have. Both Angel and I are old enough that we can go with it fairly easily, while Willow is young enough that she can easily change her way of thinking. You, however, are at the point where you have to rationalize everything, and that just doesn't work."

Lindsey nodded, understanding the basic ideas, even if those ideas did scare him a bit.

"Willow was just telling me about herself before you two came down. Why don't you tell them what you were telling me?" 

Willow blushed when all their eyes focused on her, and she stared down at her plate in embarrassment. 

"There's no need to be shy, Willow," Angel said gently.

"I was just telling him a bit about my family, that's all. I don't have any kind of history like you two, just basic teenager life."

"So, Graham, what brought you to Sunnydale," Lindsey asked, trying to make Willow more comfortable. Willow gave him a small shy smile as thanks.

Graham went along, realizing he'd been pushing Willow too much. "The military approached me, wanting me to take a position here. I'd been thinking about it, mostly because I was bored out my mind, but now..." Graham let the sentence trail off and gave a small shake of his head with a smile. "There's no need for that. So, Angel, how about you?" 

"I... I was approached by a demon that wanted me to help the Slayer. He told me that she was going to be coming to Sunnydale, so here I am, waiting."

"A vampire helping a Slayer?" Graham asked with disbelief. "Why does that *not* sound like a good idea?" He looked at Angel carefully. "This is about that atonement thing we talked about last night, isn't it?" Angel squirmed a little under Graham's gaze and questions. Graham just sighed. "Just think about what I said, okay?" Angel nodded, glad to be off the hook.

"Lindsey?" 

"Huh? Oh, I, not much to tell, really. Got tired of where I used to live, and I wanted a change. So, I came here. If I'd known there were vampires here, well... I guess it's good that I didn't know, huh?" he finished lightly. The others smiled.

"I guess," Willow said softly. They finished off their breakfast in a comfortable silence. Once they were done, Graham subtly persuaded Angel to help Willow with the dishes, and suggested that he and Lindsey take a walk. Lindsey, seeing no reason not to, agreed.

They went into the backyard, and as soon as they were outside, Graham pinned Lindsey to the back of the house.

"What?" he asked as he tried to get away from Graham.

"You lied to us. You had a reason to come to Sunnydale, a very important reason, I think. You're going to tell me what that is." The look in Graham's eyes told quite clearly that if Lindsey didn't, he'd regret it.

"I was sent back in time. To prevent Angel from becoming a problem for the firm," Lindsey ground out, not wanting to tell, but feeling compelled to.

"The firm?"

"I work for Wolfram & Hart. We're a law firm that represents demons. Angel had been interfering."

"Is he happy then?"

"Happy?" Lindsey asked in confusion. "I... don't really know. He fell in love with the Slayer, but it obviously didn't work out, since he moved to LA. I don't think he's particularly happy."

Graham released Lindsey. "I won't let you do anything that will hurt Angel. I want him to be happy. Our goal is to do that. If you manage to do whatever it is that you need to do in relation to your law firm, then all the better for you." Lindsey nodded, surprised.

"I'll tell you what. I keep you up-to-date with what I'm doing with Angel, and you help me as much as possible. I..." Lindsey got flustered for a minute, then pulled himself back together. "Although back in the future," he snickered a little with the implausibility of the statement, "I didn't really like him very much, now I want him to be happy, like you do. So...?"

Graham looked at Lindsey with inscrutable eyes. "I want to be kept completely up-to-date, with no exceptions. But if you do that, I'll help as I am able. You have my word-bond on that." With that said, Graham re-entered the house, leaving Lindsey alone outside.

How do I get myself into these things? he asked himself as he followed Graham back into Willow's house.

*****

Lindsey went back into the kitchen, to find Angel and Willow in a deep discussion about history. Graham was no where to be seen. Lindsey took a seat, and listened to the debate with interest. Willow was quite obviously interested in history, but Angel had probably lived through some of the things they were talking about. But neither was willing to let up on the other. It was very interesting to watch.

Graham walked in about an hour or two later. He sat down and listened to the debate, which was still going on strong.

"How long have they been at this?" he whispered to Lindsey.

"A long time," he whispered back. This seemed to bring Angel and Willow out of their word combat world, and they looked at the other two people. Willow blushed when she realized that at least one of them had been there a while.

"I... ah... I have things to do," Willow said with embarrassment, and practically ran out of the room. Angel moved to follow, but Graham motioned him to sit.

"I got it," he said reassuringly, before heading off after Willow. 

Angel smiled at Lindsey somewhat sheepishly. "I didn't mean to embarrass her. How long have you been there?"

"About," Lindsey looked at his watch, "an hour and a half. That was quite the debate." Lindsey gave Angel a big smile, while Angel looked at the tabletop. "Not to change the topic of anything, but what's a Slayer? And what was Graham talking about, with the vampire helping the slayer not being a good idea?"

"A Slayer, or more specifically, a Vampire Slayer, is a girl with supernatural strength that fights vampires, demons, or anything else that wants to destroy the world."

"So, by helping a Slayer, you'd be going against your nature?" Lindsey asked, trying to sound like he was guessing.

"Yeah," Angel said softly.

"And what Graham said about your earlier talk... is none of my business," Lindsey said, quickly changing his question as he saw Angel tense up, and looked very uncomfortable.

"I grew up on the outskirts of Boston," Lindsey said, surprising Angel. He stopped brooding to the tabletop, and started to watch Lindsey talk. "We weren't very well off. Actually, it would be better to say we were dirt poor. We rarely had heat, and food was scarce, and usually not very nutritious. I lost two of my younger siblings to illnesses, things that were easily curable, if you had money for heat and decent food." Lindsey was looking at the tabletop himself now, uncomfortable with what he was revealing to Angel. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Angel had taken the seat beside him, and was looking at him with sympathy in his eyes. But he could also clearly see that this was not pity. He couldn't stand pity, but Angel was just trying to comfort him. It was so different from the time when Angel had pretended to nod off when he'd spoken of his childhood during his crisis.

"But you got out?" Angel asked softly.

"Yeah. My grades were good enough to get me a scholarship to Hastings, where I majored in Law. I got a guaranteed job offer in my sophomore year."

"So what are you doing in Sunnydale?" Angel asked, confused.

"Various things for my law firm. Making contacts, working with our branch here, boring stuff like that. I'm actually on semi-vacation though. I'm not expected to do much."

"Must be nice, considering where you came from," Angel said softly.

"Yeah..." Lindsey returned softly. He shook his head. "So, how about your childhood?"

"Not much to say, really. I was the middle son of a small Irish merchant family. I did the regular childhood things with the other children of the village. Well, except for the getting barred out of school thing," Angel said with a slight smirk. His expression turned somber quite quickly, though. "When I was old enough, I turned into the town drunkard, spending all my time drinking and wenching, and doing everything I could to avoid anything that even smelled of honest work. I met Darla one night when I was drunk, followed her into an alley. She was my Sire."

Lindsey could tell that Angel was about to go into a major funk, and besides the fact that that made his heart wrench, despite anything he told it, it definitely didn't help his cause if Angel brooded.

"How did you get barred from school?" he asked, remembering the brief smirk that had been on Angel's face.

"Well, I sort of stuck a fish down the back of Mary Ellen's dress..." Angel said softly with a smile.

"And that got you barred from school?" Lindsey asked, surprised.

"For a straight month," Angel finished. Lindsey cracked a smile. "And there was also the snake I stuck in the teacher's drawer, and the three times I got boys stuck in the outhouse." Angel smiled boyishly at Lindsey. "And that's only some of the things I did. I wanted to get expelled." Lindsey was really cracking up by now.

"More," he demanded when he could get a breath in. So, for the next half an hour, Angel regaled Lindsey with tales of his misspent youth, while Lindsey laughed himself silly.

*****

Graham caught up to Willow in the hallway out side of her room. He took a hold of her arm, and stopped her mad dash away from the others.

"Willow, stop," Graham said gently. Willow had tears on her cheeks. Graham saw them, and his heart almost broke. He gently wiped them away, as he led her into his bedroom, the place he'd designated as his fortress in this new place. "Why the tears, me kalon?"

"I... you're not... going to... like me anymore..." Willow managed to get out, her words coming out in spurts because she was still crying. Graham rubbed her back in a soothing gesture.

"Willow, there isn't anything is could make us not like you anymore. And it certainly wouldn't be because we saw you sparring with words so animatedly with Angel. We are nothing except proud of you for what you can think, what you know." Willow looked up at Graham uncertainly.

"I'm a child compared to you," she said softly.

Graham sighed, and took Willow into his arms. "Willow, you may be young, but you are far from a child. And remember, I wasn't raised in this era. A woman of your age in my times would already be married with one, or perhaps even two children already." Willow had stopped crying, and was now looking at Graham with hope on her face. "I stopped thinking about people in terms of age years ago. It's really about maturity. But, since maturity if something that varies a great deal from person to person, society put down limits of age so they can somewhat keep the immature in line. But you, Willow, even at your tender 15, are a woman." Willow smiled at him. "So dry those tears. There's no need for them."

Willow smiled at him again, wider this time. "So, what are you going to do? Here that is, since you aren't going to join the military like you thought you were."

"I thought I'd go back to school." Willow's eyes widened. 

"Why?"

"Why not?" Graham asked with a smile. He then started to change, until a boy of about a few years older of Willow stood before Willow. "What do you think?"

"Oh," Willow said in surprise, as she traced a hand over Graham's new facial structure. Graham smiled, and cupped her face with his hand, and they moved closer to each other.

"Change?" Willow asked softly, as their foreheads touched. Graham frowned a moment, trying to understand, and then realized what she wanted. He changed until his true form was once again showing, and gently brought his mouth to Willow's. Willow gasped, and Graham took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, gently tracing the outlines of her mouth, as Willow's free hand moved to clutch his hair. They drew apart slowly, not wanting to lose the moment.

"Wow," Willow said softly, blushing a little.

"Wow, indeed, me kalon," Graham said with a smile. "Why don't we go downstairs and join Angel and Lindsey." Willow nodded, and they went downstairs. They were surprised to hear laughter, and when they themselves heard of Angel's youthful hijinks, they too started to laugh. It was surprising to hear that this somber man had gotten into such trouble as a young man. And the four started to bond.

*****

"Where are we going?" Willow asked Graham for the fifth time since they'd gotten into the car. Graham just gave her that secretive smile yet again. The four of them were in Graham's car, he being the only who actually owned a car, headed towards a destination that only he knew. They were now driving through the more affluent section of Sunnydale, where all the movers and shakers of the town lived. He pulled into the driveway of one of the more interesting homes in the area. It was one of the beautiful homes that had been built shortly after the turn of the century, but rumour had it that someone had been murdered inside the home. The house had been empty for several decades now, and whispers had started to say it was haunted. When it was put up for sale several years ago, no one would buy it.

"Why are we here?" Angel asked, curious.

Graham shrugged. "I bought the place." He ignored the surprised looks that were sent his way. "We need a place of our own, and Willow's house isn't ideal, especially since when Willow's parents come home, Angel and Lindsey will be out of a room." Graham smiled mischievously. "It's a bit of a fixer-upper, but I think it would be perfect for us. Come on, let's go inside." He took a key out of his pocket, and opened the front door. From the moment they stepped inside, they could see why it could be called a fixer upper. For one, there was a heavy layer of dust on everything, and it looked like no one had been in the house for decades. Everything looked a little shabby, but they could all see the potential of the house. It just needed a little loving care to become a home.

"The place came as is, which means that a few of the rooms are actually already furnished. I was looking at those rooms, and for the most part, the furnishings are perfectly adequate, just need a little TLC to look good again. The basement is unfinished, but will be perfect as a workout room. And the garden in the back is gorgeous, if a little overgrown." Willow's face lit up at the though of a garden, and ran towards the back of the house, ignoring all the dust she was kicking up. Graham and Lindsey choked a little as they followed her. They heard a squeal of delight, and then Willow ran back towards them and threw herself into Graham's arms.

"It's perfect. I love it," she gushed as she hugged him tight. "Thank you." Graham smiled as he hugged the slight redhead. 

"It was my pleasure, me kalon. So, want to see the house?" Willow nodded, her normal bashfulness gone as she took in the wonder that was to be their home. After they'd looked at room after room, some needing a little more work than others, they went back downstairs and into the back garden. They sat inside the gazebo that still stood proud despite the graffiti spray-painted on it. "A maid service is coming in tomorrow to get the worse of the grime away. After that, we can furnish it and move in." Willow was grinning with joy, as she sat beside Graham, her head on his shoulder. 

"Can I have the room with the window seat in the back?" she asked hopefully. The others smiled to themselves. Her youth made them all feel less old.

"Of course. But you'll have to wait a while, a few of the floor beams in there are rotten, I'll have to replace them first." Willow nodded. "We'll have to bunk together for a few days, until the first of the repairs are done, but that shouldn't take very long."

"And we'll help," Angel offered.

Willow nodded in agreement, and Lindsey couldn't help but smile. "Of course we will. So, what exactly do you have planned for that basement?"

Graham looked down into his lap for a moment, before speaking. "We're all going to need to know how to fight, if we're going to live on the Hellmouth. Lindsey, Willow, do you know any kind of fighting?"

"Very little," Lindsey answered, while Willow just shook her head.

"Well, you're all going to need some training, and that includes you, Angel. I saw the way you fought those vampires a few nights ago, and let me assure you that you're going to need more than just brute strength one day."

Angel nodded. "I'd be honored to learn from you." Graham smiled.

"So, can we go buy furniture for the house?" Willow asked.

"Sure, me kalon. We'll make it a family outing," he said with a smile. 

Family, Lindsey thought with awe as he followed the others back to the car. It was true. They were a family. It had been a long time since there had been anyone he'd wanted to call family, but the word was used with ease for these near strangers that had become more important than anything in his life, including his career. And that scared him. W&H had been his life for a long time... He was drawn out of his thoughts as they reached the car. He'd worry about all that later, he decided, as they headed off to a furniture store, as Willow practically bounced with excitement.

*****

Jesse smiled as he took a big bite out of his ice-cream cone. Finally, something was going okay. All right, granted, he had just gotten an ice cream cone, but his day had been terrible. This is summer vacation! he whined to himself. I'm supposed to be having the greatest time possible with my bestest buds Willow, Xander and Amy. He sighed. Well, instead of having a great time, he'd been spending a large portion of his summer alone. Xander had gotten shipped off to some summer camp for six weeks, Amy had told him she never wanted to see him again, and that he was a little snot, and Willow had been nowhere to be found the last few days. All in all, it was proving to be one of the most horrible summers that he could remember.

He sat down outside, absently watching the cars driving on the roads, and going into the parking lot of the store next door. Frankly, it didn't take much to keep him interested these days. He frowned when he saw a redheaded woman step out of a car with three men. For a second, he could have sworn that had been Willow. But as far as he knew, Willow didn't have any other real male friends other than Xander and himself. So, it couldn't be Willow. He'd almost convinced himself of this when he got a really good look at the woman's face. It was Willow. Jesse almost dropped his cone in surprise, and he scrambled to his feet, hurrying over to catch Willow before she went into a store. Two of the men turned before he'd managed to touch Willow to get her attention, and one narrowed his eyes, while the other he could have sworn had actually *growled* at him.

Willow turned to see what had gotten their attention, and she smiled when she saw Jesse.

"Jesse! It's good to see you." She immediately went forward and hugged Jesse affectionately. The three men looked at each other, then at Willow.

"We'll meet you inside, Willow," one of the men said, and then they disappeared inside. 

"Willow! Where have you been? I've been worried sick. After what happened with Amy..." 

"I'm so sorry, Jesse. I didn't want to make you feel like I'd abandoned you. I just... Something came up," she finished somewhat lamely.

"Something that involved those guys? Those much older guys?" Willow winced at Jesse's tone. He knew that something was up. Now, he just had to figure out what it was.

"Jesse. They're family." Jesse just gave her his patented 'Yeah right' look. Willow sighed.

"You know how my parents are always away? Well, they finally decided that I shouldn't be living alone." She snorted, and Jesse couldn't help but agreed. Kind of late for that kind of thing. "So, one of my Dad's cousins, fifth and something or other removed, came with two of his friends to Sunnydale. They bought a house, and here we are, to furnish it."

"What's wrong with your house?" Jesse asked suspiciously.

"Besides the bad memories? We were bunking double, and if Mom and Dad decide to come home, there goes one of the rooms..." Jesse nodded with understanding, hiding his suspicion as best he could. Something was up, but Willow seemed happy, so he'd let it go for now.

"Furniture shopping?" Jesse asked with amusement. "Can I come?" Willow smiled and nodded, as they entered the store. He wanted to know more about this supposed 'cousin' and his friends.

*****

Willow bounced into the store enthusiastically with Jesse by her side. She caught up the others who were in the home office furniture, where Lindsey and Graham were arguing about what the best computer layout was, while Angel watched with a smile on his face. Willow went up to Angel, while Jesse watched the other two with interest. 

"And they thought that we could argue well?" Angel whispered to Willow, which made her giggle. Willow quickly told Angel the story she'd concocted for Jesse, and Angel had quickly tacked the 'cousin' title on Lindsey. He went to break up their argument, and fill them in at the same time, while Willow started to drool over a really nice desk. Jesse smirked a little. 

"Desk envy, Willow? I thought you were above that?" Jesse said teasingly. Willow glared at him. The others joined him, and in the midst of introducing Jesse to the others, Angel and Willow got in a small private conversation. Angel brought Willow back up to date, being that Graham had indeed bought the house they were buying furniture for, which he was also paying for, and that he was going to be going to UCS in the fall. Lindsey was staying with him because they were good friends, and thus Willow was also staying with them, along with Angel. Willow was slightly disappointed to learn that Graham wouldn't be going to high school with her, but she understood.

So, the five of them spent the next two hours shopping for furniture, getting the basics that would be delivered in three days. They could take care of the rest later. Graham had let the others pick out whatever they wanted, no matter the price, and although they tried to curtail themselves, Graham could always tell when they had found THE thing they wanted, and always insisted they get it, no matter how expensive. They explained it to Jesse as Graham having made a lot of money both on the stock market and from the sale of computer programs, as well as some old family money. Jesse was both impressed and suspicious. Willow hoped she could reassure her friend that everything was on the up and up.

Graham drove Jesse home, before they returned to the Rosenberg residence. Willow was really tired by this time, and she went right up to bed. The men looked at her with affection.

"Why do I think that things are just going to get more interesting more here on in?" Lindsey asked with a sigh.

"Because you'd be right," Angel said softly, as they themselves decided that bed wouldn't be a bad idea after all.

*****

Several nights later, they found themselves in the Bronze, needing a break from the contractors Graham had hired to get their house structurally sound again. They were working at all hours, so that the work would be finished as soon as possible. Willow had been uncertain about going to the Bronze, especially after they'd helped her with a more fashionable look that included some makeup, but after a few minutes, she was able to relax as they joked with her. She sipped her drink while tapping her foot to the music and listening to Angel and Graham argue as to what the best music was. A girl came over and asked Graham to dance, and he looked to the others for their opinion. They all waved at him to go, so off the two went to dance. They watched him with amusement. For someone who claimed to hate modern dance music, he could certainly move well to it.

A young man approached Willow warily, mindful of the two men sitting at the table with her. "Hello," he said smoothly, "I couldn't help but notice you across the club." He caressed a lock of her red hair, as Willow looked up at him, started. A young black male stood next to her as he spoke. "You are quite possibly the most beautiful woman in here. Would you care to dance?" He smiled his most charming smile, causing a slow blush to creep over Willow's cheeks.

"Oh, I could never," she turned to Angel and Lindsey, trying to get some help.

"Go, Willow. Dance and have fun," Lindsey suggested. Angel nodded in agreement. She glared at them a bit, but took a deep breath, and the hand that he held out to help her to her feet.

"You're no help," she hissed at them softly before going off to the dance floor with the tall young man. He easily swept Willow into an easy dance step that she could follow, and they introduced each other as they danced. For a while they danced with Willow giving him shy smiles, until he started to grope her. Willow frowned, and each time one of his hands started to wander, she yanked it back into a more reasonable place for near strangers to touch. He just didn't seem to get the message. 

"I don't feel like dancing anymore," Willow said after she'd grown quite tired of his wandering hands. He graciously escorted her back to her table, but before they got there, he bent down so he was able to whisper into her ear.

"You've set this Forrest ablaze, little Red. Wanna help me put it out?" Willow frowned as she tried to figure out what he meant, and then her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She said nothing to Forrest, she just stalked off towards the washrooms. Angel was about to go after her, when he noticed that Graham was already doing so, so Angel left Willow in his quite capable hands, while he stewed over Forrest's words. Lindsey looked at Angel with confusion.

"What happened?" he asked, not having heard Forrest.

"The jerk propositioned Willow," he hissed. Lindsey's eyes narrowed, as the wheels in his mind turned.

"The nerve of him," Lindsey hissed himself. "I can't believe he did that. To Willow!" He looked at Angel with rage on his face. His throat worked as he tried to control his emotions. 

"He probably didn't mean it," Angel said somewhat weakly.

"Mean it? Scum like that guy always mean it. They get off on using young women for their perverted desires. You know that," Lindsey said as he glared at the young man in question, who was trying to seduce another young woman. "Someone needs to set that jerk straight." They watched as Forrest whispered into the woman's ear, and the two left the Bronze. The woman in question didn't look much older than Willow. "We really shouldn't let him get away with corrupting a young girl like that..." Lindsey said with disgust.

"We aren't," Angel said shortly as he got up and followed the couple, with Lindsey close behind him. They caught up to Forrest and the girl just outside the Bronze. As soon as he was close enough, Angel grabbed the back of Forrest's shirt, and yanked him backwards, and then sent him crashing into the wall. The girl, scared of the violence that had erupted, ran off away from the Bronze. Angel yanked Forrest to his feet by his collar, and pushed him roughly against the wall.

"If you ever, and I do mean *ever*, speak to Willow again, or even get within ten feet of her, I will severely hurt you. And not in a good way," Angel snarled at his captive. Forrest looked back at him with anger in his eyes.

"You don't own her," Forrest retorted. "I didn't see any claims on her. I can talk to her if I want to."

"Wrong, boy," Angel responded, pressing against Forrest's throat as he spoke, cutting off his air supply. Lindsey watched them with a smile on his face. "She is mine to protect, and I won't allow anyone such as you near her, so it would be in your best interests to stay away from her." Angel released Forrest, who fell to his knees, gasping for air. Angel stepped away from him, and turned back to Lindsey, to see that Graham and Willow had joined him. He faltered, no longer certain of himself.

"Let's get home," Graham said as he motioned his head towards where his car was. No words were spoken as they got to the car, and then drove home, but the tension was so thick in the air it could have been cut with a knife. No one was quite sure how to make things right again, however.

*****

The four entered the house silently. No one had spoken since Graham had suggested they return home, and something needed to give soon, or it might be their family that gave and broke instead.

"Angel, what were you doing to Forrest?" Willow asked softly, as she settled herself into the couch. Angel looked at anything except for Willow.

"I... He was rude to you," he replied, equally soft. Willow shook her head.

"So, you're going to throw people who are rude to me against walls?" Willow asked perplexed. "Angel, you could practically fill a phone book with people like that." Angel growled loudly, as did Graham, and Lindsey's hands were clenched into fists. Willow blinked in surprise.

"They have no right to be rude to you, me kalon. And you certainly don't deserve it. I'll admit I was tempted to do something to that rude young man myself," Graham stated, and then added quietly, "Ripping out his liver and eating it was more what I had in mind." Angel's eyes widened at the remark, which he knew had been somewhat directed at him, as he was the only one who was capable of hearing it. "However, Angel, you should have kept your temper in check. There was no need to hurt or threaten Willow's rude suitor. And Lindsey," he turned to the lawyer. "Quit goading people into things." Lindsey flushed slightly, as Willow looked at him, confused.

"Lindsey here likes violence, but is less able to commit it," Graham said conversationally to Willow and Angel, as Lindsey squirmed in his seat. 

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Forgiven, Lindsey," Willow said with a sigh. "And you too, Angel. I just, I can protect myself, alright? I'll be in my room." The men all nodded, as Willow disappeared upstairs. They wouldn't see her again tonight, they all knew. 

"I'll be in the back," Angel said as he left the room, hoping that some of the Tai Chi he was learning would help to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Don't you ever do that again," Graham told Lindsey pointedly. "If you want Angel more violent, fine. But leave Willow out of it."

"I will. I don't want to hurt Willow for anything." Graham looked long and hard at Lindsey, before nodding. 

"Well, hopefully tonight will be a reminder of that. We hurt Willow tonight. I never want that kind of thing to happen again. If you want to take apart one of the people that have done something to Willow, one way or another, fine. Just make sure she's not going to be around to see it." His warning complete, Graham headed upstairs, towards the contractors he could hear working. Some hard physical labour would probably make his feel better.

Lindsey remained in the living room, alone with his thoughts. He was running out of ideas as to how to deal with Angel. And he was wondering if he should bother anymore.

*****

"Are you sure, Willow?" Lindsey asked yet again. Willow rolled her eyes and had to control herself lest she stick her tongue out at him.

"Yes, I am sure, just like I've already told you five times. The next person who asks me that is going to be VERY sorry..." The four were walking to the Bronze, at Willow's insistence. She wanted to trust them again, and apparently, this was the way for that to happen. They were cutting through one of the many cemeteries in the town, when they heard the sounds of a fight. Angel and Graham immediately started to run towards the sound of the fight, with Willow and Lindsey not too far behind them. 

They found a young brunette woman fighting with about three vampires. Graham immediately went into the fray, and within moments, the vampires were dust. The girl put away her stake nonchalantly as she observed the newcomers.

"Thanks for the help. Not that I needed it, but a few extra hands never hurt." She examined each of the newcomers, finally coming to a rest on Lindsey. He couldn't stop staring at her.

"Leech! Glad to know I finally caught up with you!" She gave him an enthusiastic hug, while Lindsey blinked a few times.

"Faith," he said in surprise. Then he scowled. "Don't call me that."

"Sure thing, Leech. So, who are your friends?" She was examining Willow carefully as Lindsey rolled his eyes. Why the Hell is she asking me that? She knows Angel and Willow... Lindsey smacked himself mentally. In the future. Of course they would find it strange if Faith already knew them.

"Faith, that's Willow, Graham, and Angel," he pointed to each person as he spoke. "Guys, this is..." 

"I can handle this part, Leech," she said, cutting him off. Lindsey gritted his teeth together. Why did he not like this situation? With my luck, she'll spill everything and I'll be up a creek without a paddle.

"I'm Faith, me and Linds are old friends. Pleased to meet you, Red," she said to Willow as they shook hands. Willow smiled, which Faith returned without even thinking. She took Angel's hand, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Fang," she said, as she examined him closer. "Normally I'd just dust you, but since Leech is calling you friend, and you haven't drained him yet, I'll delay judgement for just a little bit." That's her impression of an 'I've never met a souled vampire before?' Am I ever glad that this Angel isn't nearly as observant as his future counterpart.

"Slayer," he returned, making both Graham and Willow blink. This was the Slayer that Angel was going to help? was their general thought.

"Good call," she said as she took Graham's hand. Her eyes widened as she stood stalk still with shock.

"Faith?" Lindsey asked worried. What now?

"I'm okay," Faith managed to get out. "You pack quite the punch, Claw."

"You're very perceptive, Slayer. We were on our way to the Bronze..."

"Do you want to come with us?" Willow asked with a shy smile. The others blinked, surprised that Willow was willing to include the girl so readily, but as they all felt the same way, no one said anything. Faith herself blinked, but nodded with agreement, as they headed towards the Bronze.

"Claw?" Willow asked Graham softly. 

"My primaries are hunting cats."

"Primaries?" Lindsey asked.

"I'm a Shaper. A more common term would be shapeshifter. Anyhow, a Shaper has a primary form, which would be the one I would use if I were to shape without any specific purpose. And that would be one of the hunting cats, a jaguar, tiger, or panther."

"You never thought to tell us this before now?"

"It slipped my mind?" Graham suggested. This caused all of them, Faith included, to laugh. Yeah right, was their reaction, but if Graham wanted to pretend that he'd forgotten to mention it, then far be it for them to deny him that. 

Faith walked along with the group, no longer sure what had happened. It had started out simple enough. One of those big wigs at that law firm Leech worked for approached her in prison, telling her she could get away from her past forever, in return for a little favor. She'd jumped at the chance, and so they got her released from prison, and she'd gone back in time to back up Leech in his task to turn Fang away from the cause of the light. But she'd never expected this... this... connection to happen between herself, Leech, Red, Fang, and Claw. And how had she known about Claw, anyhow? She normally couldn't do stuff like that...

They arrived at the Bronze, and Faith tossed all her questions to the back of her mind. Time to dance her worries away.

*****

Lindsey McDonald was in Hell. It was that simple. And it had started out so innocently. Once they'd arrived at the Bronze, Faith had immediately thrown herself into dancing, while the four of them had acquired a table. He'd let Faith dance for about twenty minutes, and then gone out to join her, hoping to get some information out of her. And that would be when he'd found his Hell on Earth.

The moment he'd reached her, she'd started to dance with him. Or perhaps against him would be a better term, as he wasn't moving much, and she was using him like one of those poles you often saw in strip joints. She danced all around him, grinding herself against his body, and teasing him into a frenzy. At the same time, she'd whisper words into his ear, but his brain was in no way capable of understanding her since all the blood in his body had converged into his lower body, not allowing his brain to function. 

"Faith!" he said over the loud music, when he was able to get some of his mental faculties working again. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the Slayer," she whispered seductively in his ear, running her hand down his chest. She cupped his hardness through his pants, giving it a squeeze. "What do you think I'm doing here?" She swirled her tongue along the outside of his ear before nipping on the lobe. Lindsey shuddered, and had to bring his libido back under control so he could continue the conversation.

"But I know Buffy got here before you!" he said into her ear.

"Maybe where we come from," she purred, turning around to grind into his pelvis. She leaned her head back to glance at him, and moved her hands up her front, and then down his sides before continuing. "But we aren't home anymore, are we, Leech?" 

Lindsey swallowed hard, as Faith continued to 'dance' with him. He briefly wondered what the others were making of this whole situation, but that thought quickly vanished, as he had to once again reign in his libido, which was quite interested in the way Faith's breasts were grinding into his chest. Oh, yeah, he was in Hell...

*****

The three at the table had been watching Faith dance with Lindsey with a bit of shock. Every once in a while, Angel would growl, before he remembered that this was the Slayer he was supposed to help. All of them, however, were wondering just how close friends Lindsey and Faith were. 

"I like her," Willow said softly. Graham looked at her surprised, while Angel raised an eyebrow, still watching the pair dancing. Willow scowled, not liking that they thought that just because Faith was acting a bit like a slut meant that she couldn't like her.

"I do. She got guts. And she's got Lindsey wrapped quite firmly around her finger right now..." Willow licked her lips as her eyes returned to the dancing pair. "Although finger might not be the right part of her anatomy..." Graham snickered, surprised at that comment. It appeared that Willow no longer saw a need to be shy around them. It was quite refreshing.

Angel growled again as he saw Faith nip at Lindsey's earlobe. Graham and Willow looked at him, amused.

"Worried about your claim on him?" Graham asked.

"Maybe the three of you should get together," Willow suggested, which made Graham snicker. Angel turned and looked at her with shock.

"She's the Slayer," he said, as if that explained everything. When he saw the look of incomprehension on their faces, he sighed. "Whistler told me to help the Slayer, not get involved with her."

"How do you even know that this is this Slayer you're supposed to help?" Graham asked.

"She's the Slayer. I can feel it."

"Don't you know what she looks like?" Willow asked, confused.

"No. He brought me straight to Sunnydale, and told me to wait for her."

"Angel, I think you should be careful. There's something about her," he turned to look out at Faith on the dance floor. "Something about her is off. I don't quite know what it is, but I don't want to see you hurt. Please be careful..."

Angel looked at Graham with surprise. "She's the Slayer, and I'm supposed to help the Slayer. That's all I need to know." He turned back to look at Faith. "Although I don't approve of her putting her hands all over what's mine. Excuse me," he said, as he rose to his feet, crossing the dance floor with grace as he went to 'rescue' Lindsey from Faith. Willow and Graham looked at each other with amusement.

"When did Lindsey become Angel's?" Willow asked conversationally.

"When we weren't looking, I guess." Graham grinned, as they watched the now trio out on the dance floor. True, Graham felt there was something off about Faith. But that didn't mean that Faith didn't feel like family, or that Faith didn't look right with the two men. It just meant that until he knew everything, things could blow up in their faces if they weren't careful.

*****

Angel moved through the throng of dancers with an animal-like grace until he reached Faith and Lindsey. He tapped her on the shoulder, and Faith whirled around, almost going into an attack posture until she realized that it was Angel. He leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"I'd like to speak with you, somewhere a little quieter?" Faith looked at Angel for a long moment, before turning back to speak into Lindsey's ear.

"It's been fun, Leech," she drawled into his ear, and then she followed Angel into an almost deserted section of the club, where the music was much quieter.

"So, Fang, what's the what?"

"I... I wanted to ask... How close are you to Lindsey?" Faith blinked, surprised at the question, which was the absolute last thing she'd thought that he was going to ask.

"We've known each other a while..." she said slowly, and then she understood.

"You have a thing for him," Faith said with a smile. Angel nodded.

"So, I ask again, just how close are you to Lindsey?"

Faith took a moment to frame her answer. "I'm not a threat to whatever relationship you want to have with Leech. I'm more of a one-night stand kinda girl. But," she leaned closer to Angel. "I love messing with his head."

"And you were messing with his head quite a bit on the dance floor," Angel said with a chuckle. "So, you're suggesting we try to send him as out of control as we can?" Faith nodded. Angel thought a moment, and checked his demon. The moment it had seen Lindsey through his eyes, it had claimed Lindsey for itself. However, it seemed more than happy to risk this gamble, with a Slayer no less. That convinced him, if nothing else.

"You have a deal, Slayer."

Faith grinned, and held out her hand. They shook on the deal, and then returned to the table, where Willow, Graham and Lindsey were siting.

*****

Willow absently stirred the decaf coffee that sat in front of her, untouched, as she watched Lindsey return to their table, and Angel and Faith go to a quiet corner. Both she and Graham saw Angel and Faith shake hands, and wondered what had been agreed upon, however Lindsey hadn't as he sat with his back to the dance floor.

"Did Faith tire you out, Lindsey?" Willow asked teasingly. Lindsey just mock glared at her, making her giggle. They noticed Angel and Faith heading back to their table, and Graham stood up to snag another chair, so that Faith would have a place to sit.

When Faith and Angel had settled themselves down, Graham smiled. "So, Faith, how do you know Lindsey?" He kept a careful eye on Lindsey, and noticed the slightly panicked look on his face. Faith looked absolutely serene, however.

"Leech and I met in Boston, that's where we both grew up. We first met when I was bar-hopping, and we'd talk every once in a while. Eventually we became quasi friends." Faith smirked as Lindsey glared at her yet again.

"And the nickname?" Willow asked.

"He's a lawyer. What else could I call him?" This made everyone but Lindsey laugh. He was still glaring at Faith.

"Ah, come on Leech. You know I'm only playing with you," Faith said sweetly. Lindsey scowled, but stopped glaring at her. Faith smiled, and turned to Willow.

"So, how do you know all these old timers?" she asked. Lindsey choked. Faith turned to Lindsey with a smile. "No offense," she told him, before returning her attention to Willow.

No offense! Lindsey thought with incredulity. He hadn't choked because of the comment. No, he'd choked because Faith had taken that moment to slip her foot into his lap, and it was doing all kinds of things that were making it very difficult for him to think straight, much less keep the others in the dark. He cast a glance at Angel, and saw the self-satisfied smirk on his face. He knows... Lindsey realized. He swallowed hard at the look he got from Angel. Combined with what Faith's foot was doing to him, he'd embarrass himself right here at the table.

"Excuse me," he said hurriedly, and got up and headed for the washroom. Faith and Angel smirked to each other in triumph.

"What did you do to Lindsey now?" Graham asked with a smile. Both Faith and Angel put on innocent looks.

"Nothing," they chorused.

"Sure," Willow replied, and she and Faith returned to their conversation about the current boy bands. Graham sent Angel a smile, amused that Faith and Angel had ganged up on Lindsey. However, he was still quite worried about this entire situation, so he excused himself and followed Lindsey to the washroom.

*****

Graham walked into the bathroom, seeing Lindsey staring at himself in the mirror. Lindsey's face was in a semi-panicked state. "Lindsey? What's going on? Did Angel and Faith play too hard with you?" Lindsey turned, startled at the intrusion. Graham noticed that Lindsey looked less like a man who'd just been teased the hell out of and was very frustrated, and much more like a man who was terrified. He quickly checked to make sure the bathroom was empty, and locked the door. "Who is she, Lindsey? What's got you so upset?"

"God, Graham, she'll blow everything! I...I mean, she's...." He took a deep breath. "She's not Angel's Slayer. She's the second one."

Graham frowned. "The one that Angel falls in love with, she dies?"

"No, there was a glitch of some sort, and another Slayer got called. So in my time, there are two of them. Faith is a real badass, we tried to hire her to kill Angel..."

"...It didn't work."

"Yeah."

"Did you...feel the connection with her there?"

"No," Lindsey sighed. "That's what's so weird. She belongs here. With us. But there, she... didn't. I know she didn't feel it with Angel, and I most certainly didn't feel it with either of them. Graham, I don't know what's going on, and it's scaring me to death."

"I know, Lindsey," Graham said reassuringly, pulling the other man into a hug. Lindsey stiffened for a moment, but then just leaned into Graham, taking the comfort that Graham was offering "But everything is going to turn out fine." Lindsey pulled away from Graham so he could see his face.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you and Faith are going to tell the others everything."

Lindsey looked at Graham with horror. "We can't do that! It would ruin everything!"

"No, it won't, Lindsey. We have to have trust." Graham looked at Lindsey with pleading eyes. Lindsey sighed.

"Fine. But if this blow up in our faces, I can place the blame fairly on you. This is not my idea of a good thing. But you have to tell all, too." Graham looked at Lindsey with surprise. Lindsey snorted. "You thought I didn't know, didn't you? I didn't become a lawyer at W&H by being blind. I'm not the only one hiding something."

Graham nodded with a look of respect on his fact. "Too true, Lindsey. Alright, looks like we are going to be having one hell of a night." 

Graham unlocked the door, and the two returned to the table. He suggested that it was time to go home, and as all of them noticed how tense Graham appeared, they all agreed. And they all wondered what was so bad that it would make Graham worry.

*****

They walked home in silence. The trip was uneventful, leaving each person to his or her own thoughts. By the time they arrived home, tensions were high, and several of them were reminded of a similar thing happening several nights ago, and they hoped that things were resolved in a similar way as well. They entered the house, still not saying a word, and settled themselves comfortably in the living room.

"I didn't originate from this time," Lindsey said abruptly, after they had been sitting on the couches in a tense silent for several minutes. Angel and Willow started, and looked at him, shocked. "I was sent back in time. From four years in the future."

"Why?" Willow asked, sounding baffled.

"I worked for Wolfram and Hart. They're a full service law business that caters to demons and the supernatural. Recently, a... problem had arisen, and since all attempts to eradicate this problem in my time failed, they resorted to sending me back in time to take care of it before it became a problem."

"I'm the problem," Angel said softly. Lindsey looked up in surprise, from where he'd been staring at his hands. He nodded slowly, as Angel snorted and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling.

"And Faith?" Willow asked softly.

"They weren't sure that Leech could do the job," Faith said. "So, they sent me back too."

"But you're the Slayer," Angel said, confused.

"I'm a Slayer, yeah, but not THE Slayer. The Slayer you're supposed to meet is gonna get here right before school starts. In a year, she'll drown but be revived, resulting in the next Slayer becoming activated. That Slayer is killed a year after that, and I was called." 

"Why are you working for W&H if you're the Slayer?" Graham asked.

"They got me out of prison. I..." Faith sighed.

"It's alright, Faith. You don't have to tell us now." Willow smiled at Faith, trying to cheer her up. She got a faint smile in return.

"Your turn, Graham," Lindsey said suddenly, tired of the spotlight being on himself and Faith. The others started at this, wondering what he meant, but Graham just tensed slightly as he leaned back into the couch, trying to look casual.

"I told Lindsey that now was the time to come completely clean. He told me he would if I would. So, I guess it's my turn." Graham smiled, a sad little smile of introspection. "I'm not quite sure where to start, though."

"You've been keeping something from us?" Willow asked softly, sounding hurt. Graham put his arms around her, trying to ease the hurt he'd made her feel.

"You guys know I'm a Shaper, like I said earlier. What I didn't mention was that Shapers can have families." Graham stopped, knowing he was making a mess of what he was trying to say. He sighed, and started again, the others all looking at him with interest. "Millennia ago, the first Shaper was created. No one knows how, but she was the beginning of our line. From there, more Shapers were created. Not long after that, the first Shaper felt the pull of family." Graham sighed again, his hands clenching and unclenching compulsively. "He met his mate and two of his companions at some gathering. The moment he saw them, he knew that they were his family, and that they belonged together eternally." Graham stopped again, as the rest took in that statement. That was exactly how all of them had felt when they had met.

"What happened? And I thought you said the First Shaper was a she?" Faith asked bluntly.

Graham blinked. "The First Shaper's female. The first who found family was someone else."

"Oh. So, what happened?" 

"They didn't the pull. His mate was interested in him, but was already married to someone, and the way things were back then, leaving your wife was unheard of. His two companions lived in two different towns, which he only learned after they left. He tracked one down, and was met with disdain. Crushed, he went to the second town, to find that his second companion had been killed the day before. Legend had it that he went mad with grief. But regardless of legend, he did become suicidal. He started the tradition of acceptable suicide among our kind. By creating others of our kind. He made two of us successfully before he died creating the third."

"That's tragic..." Willow whispered, as the others all nodded to themselves. They all knew how the bond felt. To have the ones you were bonded to reject you, show you disdain, or die was incredibly tragic.

"At the time, we thought that we were loners, that he'd just been some sort of aberration, that this bond didn't usually occur for a Shaper. However, after a second one of us went through this, and also committed suicide, the other Shapers realized that this wasn't aberration, but was part of a Shaper's life. The others quickly started to look for a solution to the problem, with no luck for several centuries. Two more Shapers felt the pull. One was lucky, or at least she thought so in the beginning. She'd met only her mate, and he was free. They started a relationship. The other met instant rejection. He died soon afterwards, creating two more of us. She was with him for several years, until she learned that he'd been cheating on her from the very beginning. She was heartbroken. It took her five tries to die." Graham gave a sad snort. "It's said that the more you want to die, the harder it is to die."

"So what changed?" Angel asked carefully.

"Araelia finally created a spell that made it so that when a Shaper found their family, they too would feel the bond. She cast the spell, and since, no Shaper has committed suicide because of their family abandoning them."

"But they did for other reasons?" Lindsey asked.

"The first family that stayed together were made of mortals. They aged. They died." Angel hissed, understanding how living forever could make a difference in a relationship. 

"Araelia once again started searching for spells. After a lot of trial and error, and a lot of tragedy, she found ways to keep families together. She learned that no two family members could be the same kind of being, otherwise they would kill each other. And she learned that just because a being could theoretically live forever, didn't mean that they would in real life. A vampire was dusted."

"So, you're saying that we're all going to become Immortal in some way?" Faith asked. Graham nodded. "Whoa..." was her only response. All of them were pretty stunned from the story they had gotten from Graham, especially Lindsey. He'd known Graham was hiding something, but he'd never in a thousand years imagined that it was this.

"We should get to bed. Faith, we have quite a few empty bedrooms. Why don't I show them to you and you can chose your favorite?" 

"Sure, Claw," she said faintly as she allowed him to lead her upstairs. The others were still sitting in the living room, deep in thought. None of them moved for hours, until Angel finally had to leave due to the encroaching sunlight. Willow and Lindsey ended up sleeping on the couches.

******

Willow and Lindsey woke up around noon. Willow groaned as her muscles protested against the position she'd slept in.

"Why didn't I move last night?" she muttered to herself as she laboured to get to her feet without keeling over in pain. She heard Lindsey mutter something himself, and then he was sitting up with far too much ease. 

"Sore, Willow?" he asked as he rose to his feet and went to stand before her, looking as fresh as if he'd slept in an actual bed. She just glared at him. Lindsey sighed, put a hand on her shoulder, and muttered something again. Willow tried to understand what he said, but it sounded like gibberish to her. A few moments later, she blinked, as she realized that the pain was gone. She felt fine. As if she'd slept ten hours on her oh so comfortable bed.

"How did you do that?" Willow asked, stunned.

"Magick. Don't you perform it? I though..." Lindsey sighed. "Sorry, I tend to get confused with the timelines. When I come from, you're a mage." Willow blinked in surprise.

"Me? A mage? I could never..."

"You can and you were, Willow," Lindsey interrupted gently. "Would you like me to teach you a spell?"

"You could do that?" 

"Of course," Lindsey said, as he told her hand and led her upstairs. "I've got a few spell books in my room. We can no doubt find something you can work with." Willow smiled as they entered Lindsey's airy room. Maybe things will work out after all, she thought to herself, glad that things weren't as bad as she'd been imagining last night. I think everything is going to be fine now. 

*****

Faith looked out on the sunny backyard, her thoughts in turmoil. Everything had changed in a blink of an eye, and she felt like she was lost in a storm. Didn't know where she had been, where she was going, or if she was going to survive until the storm ended. She didn't know what to think about anything anymore, either. Angel, who had been acquaintance, friend, enemy, and savior throughout the time she'd known him, was now a stranger. He didn't know her, and although she had originally thought she knew him, she realized now that Fang was very different from the Angel she had known. Faith blinked and sighed. Perfect, now I'm confusing myself! Just lovely. 

"Faith." She whirled around when she heard her name, to see Fang leaning against the far wall away from where the sun was shining into the room.

"Hey," she said uncomfortably. Fang smiled at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. Faith swallowed, as she moved towards the drapes. She closed them, not understanding why she wanted Fang to be comfortable, but letting her instincts guide her nonetheless.

"I'm confused," she confessed softly. Fang gave her a sympathetic smile and wrapped his arms around her. Surprised, she tensed, but then relaxed against him, reveling in the way he held her, as if she were something precious and fragile. No one had ever held her like this. She liked it, she decided as she tried to bury herself inside him.

"Talk to me, Faith. Let me make it better," he said softly. Faith was surprised that she actually believed that he could make it better, but she did, which just made her feel more confused.

"I knew Angel for two years. Fought with him, fought against him, tried to seduce him, tried to kill him, and almost fell apart in his arms. But throughout that, I never felt this... connection. It makes no sense!" She pounded a fist against him chest with all the strength in her body. Angel grunted a little, but just gathered her back up into his arms, and gently rocked her in his arms.

"We're all different because of this bond, loach. We're all struggling with it. The rest of us have just had a little longer to adjust before learning the truth." 

"It's not that, Fang. It's... Already I think of you and the Angel from my past, the future, as someone who isn't you." Faith let out a sound somewhere between a laugh, a sigh and a sob. "It makes no sense!" she repeated again, before letting herself sag into Angel's strength. He carefully led her over to a couch. 

"I don't know what to say to make it better for you, loach, but whatever you need that I can give, you have it." Faith looked up to see Fang's eyes, and was startled by the amount of affection in them.

"I know you will, Fang," she whispered softly. "I know you will." The tension drained out of Faith's body, and she finally managed to fall asleep for the first time since she'd traveled back in time. Angel stroked her hair softly in sync with her breathing.

"Thing will be alright, loach. I know things will." Angel leaned back into the couch, and let himself drift off to sleep, still holding Faith in the protection of his arms. He'd do his best to see that nothing and no one ever hurt Faith again.

*****

"That's it... That's it..." Lindsey whispered softly to her. "Now, slowly, open your eyes." Willow opened her eyes and was stunned to see the feather was actually hanging in midair, just like Lindsey said it would. 

"Wow," she whispered softly, as she watched the feather slowly turn in the air. No longer concentrating on the spell that kept the feather aloft, it slowly floated back down to the ground. "I never thought I could do something like that." Lindsey smiled at her.

"Well, you can, and a lot more. All you need to do is learn how to do it."

"Will you teach me?"

"As much as I am able. Magick's a funny thing." Lindsey paused, and gathered his thoughts. "Magick reacts differently to everyone who uses it. I have a feeling that you and I work on fairly opposite sides of the spectrum. Now that doesn't mean I can't teach you. I just means that I'll be teaching you how to cast spells I wouldn't be able to cast."

"Well, that makes lots of sense. But magick's like that, isn't it?" Lindsey just nodded.

"And it'll be good in the end that we're so different. I know of a lot of spells that call for two mages who work from opposite sides. These spells are rarely cast because you don't normally find two people like that who would be willing to work together."

"But we will," Willow said softly.

"We will," Lindsey agreed, as he held out his right hand to her, with his fingers curling towards his palm. Willow instinctively placed her hand inside his, so that their palms were touching at right angles, and her fingers were curling around the bottom of his hand. He sent a small pulse of power into her, which she returned without thought. For a single timeless moment, they were one, and then everything returned to normal. "We will," he said again, this time with a note of awe in his voice. Willow just nodded. Watch out world, she thought to herself somewhat giddily. 'Cause Linds and I are here, ready to take you on!

*****

Graham looked at his bike with a sigh. Why do I do this to myself? he asked himself as he checked the motorcycle over, making sure it was running at peak efficiency. I always end up returning them to the factory. But no, boy, you always form an emotional relationship with the hunk of metal and plastic that's one of the company's prototypes. The newest prototype was being delivered sometime today, which meant that this one had to go. He didn't need more than one motorcycle.

"Nice bike," he heard Faith say, and he turned with surprise. He didn't expect to see any of the others for days. He didn't think they'd want to see his face, after the bombshell he'd dropped.

"Thanks," he said absently. "Do you ride?"

"Not often. Don't have a bike. I try to use them whenever I can, though," Faith said enthusiastically as she moved in closer to examine the bike. "Damn, is this one of the Panther bikes?"

"Yeah. A Panther 260x."

"A 260? I thought that they had only released the 250s?" Faith asked, confused.

"They have. They're releasing this baby this summer." Graham blinked, as he fingered the bike's seat. "Faith, would you like it?"

"Huh?" 

"Would you like the bike?" Graham asked again.

"You're joking, right?" Faith asked, in a sarcastic tone.

Graham pulled out his keys, removed the one for the bike from it, and tossed it to Faith. "I don't joke," he informed her. Faith just stared at the key in shock. She put it in the ignition, not expecting it to work, and she almost fell off the bike when it roared to life. "They're bringing me the Panther 270x today. I was going to return the bike to the factory, but since you want one, you can have this one."

"Factory?" Faith asked, sounding dazed.

"Huh? Oh, I own Panther Motorcycles," Graham said in an offhand way, as if it was nothing. Faith's jaw dropped.

"You own Panther Motorcycles," Faith repeated to herself, not quite believing what had happened. She'd come down to the garage to talk to Graham, not to end up owning a Panther 260x, or to learn that Graham owned the third largest motorcycle company in the world.

Graham made a noise of agreement, but it was drowned out by the sound of a motorcycle roar. "That must be it now," Graham said as he opened the garage door. A motorcycle drove in, and stopped a few feet from Graham. The rider took off his helmet and grinned at Graham.

"Julian," Graham said with amused exasperation. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

"Because I like dropping in on you when you least expect it?" Graham chuckled. Faith stared at Julian. He had hair so blonde it almost looked white, which was obviously dyed considering his eyebrows were dark brown. His eyes were a pale shade of blue that were mesmerizing. And he was just all around gorgeous. 

"Well, hello," Julian drawled as he stepped closer to Faith.

"Julian," Graham said with a touch of warning. "Meet Faith. Faith, Julian. He's been my companion for about 70 years now."

"Seventy years? That's a long time," Faith said softly. Graham just shrugged.

"So, am I going to be able to meet the rest of the family? I got here as soon as I could."

"Didn't want to leave Jenny, did you?" Graham asked teasingly as he put an arm over his old friend's shoulders. Julian put an innocent expression on his face, but that dissolved the moment his eyes met Graham's.

"I worry about her," he said simply, with absolutely no expression on his face or in his voice.

"I know," Graham said soothingly. "Jenny is the love of Julian's life," he informed Faith softly. Faith just nodded, as they entered the house. He went to call out to the others, and then he remembered what had happened the day before, and he hesitated, his arm dropping to his side. 

"Yo, guys!" Faith yelled loudly up the stairs. "We got company! Get down here!" Graham blinked, as he received a mischievous smile from Faith. Willow and Lindsey came downstairs together, and Graham could almost see the magick afterglow that surrounded them. They both gave Graham a smile, which made him hope that they wouldn't hold anything against him. Angel came down a few moments later, checking carefully for patches of sunlight. Willow closed the living room blinds, while Lindsey got the lights, so that Angel could sit on the couch with everyone else.

"Graham gave me his bike," Faith said, trying to keep some of the excitement out of her voice, but not really succeeding. The others smiled.

"The Panther that was in the garage?" Angel asked. Faith nodded. Everyone's eyes, however, were on Julian, and had been since each of them had first spotted him.

"Guys, this is Julian. He's been a companion to Graham for 70 years already. Jules, that's Leech, Fang, and Red." Willow snickered slightly, as Julian and Lindsey glared at Faith.

"Don't call me that," "Stop calling me that," was said practically at the same time. Julian and Lindsey looked at each other, and smiled. "She does this a lot, I'm assuming?" Julian asked with a smile. The others nodded. "Figures."

"I'm Lindsey, that's Willow, and that's Angel's over next to you."

"So, you're family," Willow said softly. Julian nodded. "Why do I have this feeling you'd be the black sheep of the family?"

Julian gave Willow a naughty smile. "Because you'd be right." Willow smiled, her head ducking down as a blush covered her cheeks. Graham hesitantly put his arm around her, and Willow burrowed herself into his arms. He let out a sigh of relief, as his other arm circled around her, hugging her to him.

"So, now what?" Lindsey asked.

"Now, we live," Willow said softly, in an absent-minded kind of voice. "Faith and I will go to school with the tri-bond ones, Linds and I will learn magic until the air shimmers with waiting. Graham and Angel will join in strength, bringing the Hellmouth to heel, and a grandsire crushed beneath their boots. Faith will balance in the shadows, Linds will abolish his oppressors and Julian will come into his own. He will bring his golden haired one to us, and Angel will reunite with his favorite Childe. And we will be family." Willow blinked all of a sudden, and slumped back again Graham drained. "What happened?" she asked faintly.

"You had a premonition," Julian told her softly.

"I'm not going to school!"

"You are so, Faith," Willow told her raven-haired friend, her resolve face coming to the fore. Faith shook her head violently.

"No way in hell!"

"You are, and that's the last I want to hear about it."

"But Red..." Faith whined. "I'm no good at school. I dropped out for a reason." Willow said nothing, but Faith sighed at the look on her friend's face. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she said sullenly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"It'll be alright, Faith," Graham said soothingly. Faith looked up at him, her face clearly showing her uncertaincy, but she gave him a shy smile.

"Sounds like we're in for one hell of a time," Lindsey said.

"So it does," Julian agreed. "But it sure as hell isn't going to be boring."

****

Fin


End file.
